TWI763054B - Vga card assembly, control device thereof, and image output method performed thereby - Google Patents

Abstract

A VGA card assembly comprises a VGA card body with a circuit motherboard for generating a status signal and a monitoring device. The monitoring device has a microprocessor for receiving the status signal, a status display and a non-volatile memory with at least one first storage block and at least one second storage block. Before the microprocessor completely writes a second file into the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor obtains a first file stored in the at least one first storage block, and enables the status display to output a picture according to at least one of the status signal and the first file. After the microprocessor completely writes the second file into the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor obtains the second file stored in the at least one second storage block, and enables the status display to output a picture according to at least one of the status signal and the second file.

Description

Display card assembly, monitoring device and screen output method thereof

The present invention relates to the field of display cards, in particular to a display card assembly capable of rapidly replacing pictures without screen interruption, a monitoring device thereof, and a picture output method implemented in the display card assembly.

In response to the needs of various applications, especially graphics programs or game programs, for the display screen and response speed, such as high resolution, complex three-dimensional object textures, high-speed changing content, etc., the computing speed of the graphics card itself in the computer market has been demanded It is much higher than in the past, and the additional functions (such as temperature sensing function, fan driving function, etc.) corresponding to this are also becoming more and more complex. However, the monitoring of the above additional functions on commercially available graphics cards can usually only be performed through the application program installed on the computer host, which obviously causes inconvenience to the user, especially when the screen delay occurs during the execution of the game program. In such a situation, the user usually cannot immediately jump out of the game program to obtain the current operation status of the graphics card, and therefore it is difficult to immediately detect whether the graphics card is functioning abnormally.

Therefore, there is currently a monitoring device on the market that can present the operation status of the display card, so that the user can check various operation parameters of the display card through the monitoring device, and the monitoring device is often set with a background pattern. When the user wants to change the background pattern, the mainboard of the computer usually needs to transmit the image file to the monitoring device through the display card, and the memory in the monitoring device must be cleared for storing the image file before saving the image file. The image file is used as a background pattern. Therefore, the process of setting the pattern as the background pattern is not only extremely time-consuming, but also may cause the entire image file to be retransmitted due to occasional errors in the transmission process, further deteriorating the work efficiency of replacing the background pattern.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a display card assembly, a monitoring device thereof, and a screen output method thereof.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a display card assembly is used to be combined between a computer motherboard and a display, and the display card assembly includes a display card body and a monitoring device. The display card body has a circuit board, and the circuit board is used for generating status signals. The monitoring device has a microprocessor, a status display and a non-volatile memory, wherein the microprocessor is electrically connected to the status display, the non-volatile memory and the circuit motherboard, the microprocessor receives the status signal, and the non-volatile memory has At least one first storage block and at least one second storage block. Before the microprocessor completely writes the second file to the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor obtains the first file stored in the at least one first storage block, and activates the status display according to the status At least one of the signal and the first file outputs a screen. After the microprocessor completely writes the second file to the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor obtains the second file stored in the at least one second storage block, and activates the status display according to the status At least one of the signal and the second file outputs a screen.

A monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention is used for forming a display card assembly together with a display card body, and the monitoring device includes a communication port, a non-volatile memory, a microprocessor and a status display. The communication transmission port is used for communicatively connecting the display card body to receive the status signal. The non-volatile memory has at least one first storage area and at least one second storage area. The microprocessor is electrically connected to the communication transmission port and the non-volatile memory, and the microprocessor generates screen data. The status display is electrically connected to the microprocessor, and generates a corresponding picture according to the picture data. Before the microprocessor completely writes the second file to the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor obtains the first file stored in the at least one first storage block, and according to the status signal and the first file At least one of the files generates picture data. After the microprocessor completely writes the second file to the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor obtains the second file stored in the at least one second storage block, and according to the status signal and the second file At least one of the files generates picture data.

An image output method of a display card assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention is used for a status display of the display card assembly to output images, wherein the microprocessor of the display card assembly is electrically connected to a non-volatile memory, and the non-volatile memory The body has at least one first storage block and at least one second storage block, and the at least one first storage block has stored the first file. The screen output method includes: receiving a second file with a microprocessor; writing the second file into the at least one second storage block with the microprocessor; writing the second file into the at least one second storage block completely Before the block, the microprocessor actuates the status display to output a picture corresponding to the first file; and after the second file is completely written to the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor actuates the status display to output a picture corresponding to the first file. the screen of the second file, and delete the first file of the at least one first storage block.

With the above-mentioned content, the display card assembly, the monitoring device and the screen output method thereof proposed by the present invention store files in a memory having a plurality of storage blocks. The files to be written (ie, the aforementioned second files) are stored in different storage blocks respectively, and there is no need to store the two files in the same location. Therefore, the user does not need to delete the file used to display the current screen in the non-volatile memory first, and can immediately write another file to be added, which can not only reduce the time between the user issuing the save command and the display file. Waiting time, and can also avoid the situation that no picture file can be displayed during the above waiting time. In addition, if an error occurs when writing another file (ie, the aforementioned second file), the original file (ie, the aforementioned first file) is still available for the status display.

The above description of the present disclosure and the following description of the embodiments are used to demonstrate and explain the spirit and principle of the present invention, and provide further explanation of the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

The detailed features and advantages of the present invention are described in detail in the following embodiments, and the content is sufficient to enable any person skilled in the relevant art to understand the technical content of the present invention and implement it accordingly, and according to the content disclosed in this specification, the scope of the patent application and the drawings , any person skilled in the related art can easily understand the related objects and advantages of the present invention. The following examples further illustrate the viewpoints of the present invention in detail, but do not limit the scope of the present invention in any viewpoint.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which illustrates a system architecture diagram of a display card assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the display card assembly of this embodiment is combined between a computer motherboard MB and a display D, and the display card assembly includes a display card body 1 and a monitoring device 2 . The display card body 1 is at least used to perform the computing function of a general display card, so as to reduce the computing burden of the computing processor integrated on the computer motherboard MB in terms of image processing, and the display card body 1 can be an independent display card ( Discrete Graphics Processing Unit, dGPU) or Integrated Graphics Processing Unit (iGPU). The monitoring device 2 is electrically connected to the display card body 1 for monitoring the operation of the display card body 1 independently of the computer motherboard MB, and the detailed structure thereof will be described in detail later.

In this embodiment, the display card body 1 at least includes a circuit motherboard 11 and a first signal transmission port 12 , wherein the circuit motherboard 11 is used to electrically connect to the computer motherboard MB, and is generated according to the instructions of the computer motherboard MB The display signal is sent to the display D for image display, and the first signal transmission port 12 is electrically connected to the circuit board 11 for receiving signals from the circuit board 11 and outputting to the monitoring device 2 , or receiving signals from the monitoring device 2 and sent to the circuit board 11 . In addition, the display card body 1 may further include a controlled element 13 and a sensing element 14. The controlled element 13 may be a lamp, a fan or other elements that can operate according to the received electrical signals according to requirements, and The sensing element 14 is, for example, a temperature sensor or other elements capable of sensing environmental conditions. For the overall operation of the present invention, the operation of the circuit board 11 is focused on: by electrically connecting the first signal transmission port 12 of the circuit board 11 and the controlled 13 or sensing element 14, the circuit board 11 can generate a status signal (which may include but not limited to the operation data of the GPU of the circuit board 11, the rotational speed value of the fan, the temperature value of the temperature sensor, etc. ), and outputs the status signal to the monitoring device 2 through the first signal transmission port 12 , or receives a control command from the monitoring device 2 through the first signal transmission port 12 to control the circuit board 11 or the controlled device 13 .

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 together, wherein FIG. 2 is a combined perspective view of the display card assembly of the embodiment. The monitoring device 2 of this embodiment has a microprocessor 21 , a second signal transmission port 22 , a status display 23 and a memory 24 , wherein the microprocessor 21 is connected to the second signal transmission port 22 , the status display 23 and the The memory 24 is electrically connected. Specifically, the second signal transmission port 22 is communicatively connected to the first signal transmission port 12 to receive the aforementioned status signal, and further transmit the status signal to the microprocessor 21 . The status display 23 receives a picture data generated by the microprocessor 21 and is actuated by the microprocessor 21 to output a picture. The status display 23 is preferably a touch screen, which is not only used for outputting the aforesaid picture in the form of images according to the picture data, but also can generate operation signals corresponding to the user's touch operation, so that the microprocessor 21 can correspond to this operation The signal transmits the aforementioned control command to the display card body 1 through the second signal transmission port 22 , so as to control the operation of the circuit board 11 , the controlled device 13 or the sensing element 14 . The memory 24 is used to store the data required for the operation of the monitoring device 2 and the image file as the background pattern, and the memory 24 is preferably realized by a non-volatile memory, so as to save the written data under the condition of no power supply the image files in it. In addition, the monitoring device 2 may additionally have control buttons 25 for generating the aforementioned operation signals. In this case, a general display screen without touch function can be selected as the status display 23 . To be more specific, the microprocessor 21 generates screen data according to at least one of the aforementioned status signal and the graphic file. For example, the status signal is a character representing the operation status of the circuit board 11 , the controlled control 13 or the sensing element 14 , The picture file corresponds to the background pattern displayed in the area other than the characters, and the picture data is generated based on the status signal and the picture file; or, when the monitoring device 2 is in the standby state, the picture data can only correspond to the picture file. Instead, the status display 23 presents the complete content of the drawing file.

For the memory 24 used for storing image files in this embodiment, please refer to the schematic diagrams of the storage space of the memory 24 shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 . The memory 24 implemented with a non-volatile memory has multiple storage areas. blocks, wherein the embodiment does not limit the number of these storage blocks. Among these storage blocks, at least one storage block storing a first file is defined as at least one first storage block 241 , which may be a single storage block (as shown in FIG. 3 ) or may be multiple storage blocks (as shown in Figure 4). On the other hand, a storage block different from the first storage block 241 in the memory 24 is defined as at least one second storage block 242 , which can also be a single storage block (as shown in FIG. 3 ) or It can be multiple storage blocks (as shown in Figure 4). In an implementation of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , the total number of storage blocks of the memory 24 is two, one of which is the first storage block 241 storing the first file, and the other is the first storage block 241 for storing the first file. The second storage block 242 for storing a second file, and the size of the storage space of the first storage block 241 and the second storage block 242 is preferably substantially the same. In another implementation of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , the total number of storage blocks of the memory 24 is greater than two, for example, the total number is eight, and one or more of them (for example, the three shown in FIG. 4 ) ) is the first storage block 241 for storing the first file, and the other storage blocks are the second storage blocks 242 for storing the second file (for example, five shown in FIG. 4 ). Please note that in practice, when the memory 24 has second storage blocks 242 with a total number greater than two as shown in FIG. 4 , all of the second storage blocks 242 can be used to store the second file, but only these can be used. A portion of the second storage block 242 stores the second file. The above-mentioned first file and second file can be used as a background pattern, and the first file can be a single image file or a group of image files that can be played continuously. Similarly, the second file can also be a single image file. file or a group of image files that can be played continuously.

The above-mentioned planning for the storage space of the memory 24 is due to the use characteristics of the non-volatile memory. This characteristic is that when the same storage space in the non-volatile memory is to be reused, the storage space must be erased first in order to write updated data in this storage space. Under the above-mentioned planning structure of multiple storage blocks of the memory 24, after the second file has been completely written into the second storage block 242, the first file in the first storage block 241 can be deleted. Therefore, not only can the background pattern for the status display 23 be stored in the memory 24 at any time, but also when the user wants to use the second file instead of the first file as the background pattern, the operation of erasing the first file can be completed after the The writing of the second file is performed after the second file is displayed on the status display 23 , which reduces the waiting time between the user issuing the save command and the display of the second file on the status display 23 .

Please refer to FIG. 5 , which is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method for outputting a screen of a display card assembly of the present invention. The implementation of the screen output method requires that the first file has been stored in the first storage block 241 of the memory 24 , and the microprocessor 21 is activated before the second file is completely written to the second storage block 242 The display outputs a picture corresponding to the first file, for example, the first file is used as a background pattern. When executing the screen output method of this embodiment, as shown in the program S1, firstly, the microprocessor 21 receives the first signal from the computer motherboard MB through the circuit motherboard 11, the first signal transmission port 12 and the second signal transmission port 22. Second file. As shown in the procedure S2 , the microprocessor 21 writes the received second file into the second storage block 242 . Then, as shown in the procedure S3, after the second file is completely written into the second storage block 242, the microprocessor 21 can actuate the status display 23 to output a picture corresponding to the second file. Finally, as shown in the procedure S4, the microprocessor 21 deletes the first file in the first storage block 241 to complete the screen output method of this embodiment.

In the above-mentioned procedure S2, it is preferable to include steps S21 to S23 as shown in FIG. 6, so as to know the progress of writing the second file to the second storage block 242 at any time. For this purpose, the microprocessor 21 has a built-in write level accumulator, and the microprocessor 21 can accumulate the write level each time a second storage block is completely written by using a flag. Add one to the amount, or add one to the cumulative amount of the writing level when the entire writing of the second file is completed. Specifically, first, in step S21, the microprocessor 21 pre-determines the number of storage blocks to be occupied for storing the second file, that is, the number of blocks corresponding to the second file in the second storage block 242. In practice, when the total number of the second storage blocks 242 is greater than one, according to the file size of the second file, the number of blocks corresponding to the second file in the second storage block 242 may be equal to the total number of the second storage blocks 242 , may also be smaller than the total number of the second storage blocks 242 . In step S22, the microprocessor 21 writes the second file into the second storage block 242, and when any one of the at least one second storage block is completely written, or when the second file is completed The microprocessor 21 will add one to the accumulated amount of the writing level when the overall writing is performed. In practice, when the number of blocks corresponding to the second file in the second storage block 242 is greater than one, the microprocessor 21 writes the second file into the second storage blocks 242 in sequence. Finally, in step S23, the microprocessor 21 determines whether the current cumulative amount of writing level is equal to the aforementioned number of blocks, so as to continue to write the second file into the second storage block 242 until the cumulative amount of writing level is equal to The aforementioned number of blocks. However, in addition to the above implementation manner, an addressing manner can also be used for the microprocessor 21 to determine the current writing progress of the second file.

In order to reduce the extra operation time for compensating for the error in the case of an error in the transmission of the second file, the above-mentioned step S23 may include sub-step S231 and sub-step S232. In sub-step S231, the microprocessor 21 determines whether the cumulative amount of writing level is equal to the number of blocks when it detects that the writing of the second file is stopped. The file has been completely written into the second storage block 242; and if the cumulative amount of writing levels is less than the number of blocks, the sub-step S232 is executed. In sub-step S232, when the microprocessor 21 determines that the cumulative amount of writing level is less than the number of blocks, the microprocessor 21 can determine that the second storage area is being written when stopping writing according to the cumulative amount of writing level Which one of the blocks 242 can continue to be written into the second storage block 242 from the position of the second file corresponding to the cumulative amount of the write level. Therefore, even if an error occurs when transferring the second file, the content that needs to be rewritten can be greatly reduced.

In addition, before executing the program S2, it is usually possible to first determine whether the storage space of the second storage block 242 is sufficient to accommodate the second file, and then determine whether the storage space of the second storage block 242 is greater than or equal to the file size of the second file After that, program S3 is continued.

In the above-mentioned image output method of the display card component, as long as the microprocessor 21 deletes the first file in the first storage block 241 through the execution of the program S4, the image output method in this image output method can be subsequently The second file is regarded as the first file when the screen output method is executed next time, and the second storage block 242 in which the second file is stored in this screen output method is correspondingly regarded as the next time the screen output method is executed. The first storage block 241 of .

To sum up the above, the display card assembly, the monitoring device and the screen output method provided by the present invention store files in a memory having a plurality of storage blocks, and the files to be deleted (ie, the aforementioned first file) can be stored with the The files to be written (ie, the aforementioned second files) are stored in different storage blocks respectively, and there is no need to store the two files in the same location. Therefore, the user does not need to delete the file used to display the current screen in the non-volatile memory (ie the aforementioned first file), and can immediately write another file to be added (ie the aforementioned second file), such a This can not only reduce the waiting time between the user issuing the save command and displaying the file, but also avoid the situation that no image file can be displayed during the above waiting time. In addition, if an error occurs when writing another file (ie, the aforementioned second file), the original file (ie, the aforementioned first file) is still available for the status display.

Although the present invention is disclosed in the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Changes and modifications made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention belong to the scope of patent protection of the present invention. For the protection scope defined by the present invention, please refer to the attached patent application scope.

1 Display card body 11 circuit board 12 The first signal transmission port 13 Controlled 14 Sensors 2 Monitoring device 21 Microprocessor 22 The second signal transmission port 23 Status display 24 memory 241 The first storage block 242 Second storage block 25 Control buttons MB computer motherboard D display

FIG. 1 is a system architecture diagram of a display card assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of a display card assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a storage space of a memory according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a schematic diagram of a storage space of a memory according to another implementation manner of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a screen output method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a detailed flow chart of a procedure S2 of a screen output method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a detailed flowchart of step S23 of the image output method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (9)

A display card assembly is used to be combined between a computer motherboard and a display. The display card assembly comprises: a display card body with a circuit motherboard, the circuit motherboard is used to generate a status signal; and a monitor The device has a microprocessor, a status display and a non-volatile memory, the microprocessor is electrically connected to the status display, the non-volatile memory and the circuit motherboard, the microprocessor receives the status signal, The non-volatile memory has at least one first storage block and at least one second storage block, wherein before the microprocessor completely writes a second file to the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor The device obtains a first file stored in the at least one first storage block, and activates the status display to output a screen according to at least one of the status signal and the first file; the microprocessor completely writes the Before the second file is stored in the at least one second storage block, the at least one first storage block stores the complete first file; before the microprocessor completely writes the second file into the at least one second storage block After the block, the microprocessor obtains the second file stored in the at least one second storage block, and activates the status display to output a picture according to at least one of the status signal and the second file. The display card assembly of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor further deletes the first storage block in the at least one first storage block after completely writing the second file to the at least one second storage block file. The display card assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one first storage block and the at least one second storage block each have one quantity, and the number of the first storage block and the second storage block is one. The storage space is equal in size. A monitoring device is used to form a display card assembly together with a display card body, the monitoring device comprises: a communication transmission port for communicatively connecting the display card body to receive a status signal; a non-volatile memory The body has at least one first storage block and at least one second storage block; a microprocessor is electrically connected to the communication transmission port and the non-volatile memory, and the microprocessor generates a picture data; and a status display, electrically connected to the microprocessor, and generating a corresponding picture according to the picture data, wherein, before the microprocessor completely writes a second file to the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor The processor obtains a first file stored in the at least one first storage block, and generates the first file according to at least one of the status signal and the first file screen data; before the microprocessor completely writes the second file to the at least one second storage block, the at least one first storage block stores the complete first file; after the microprocessor completely writes the second file After entering the second file into the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor obtains the second file stored in the at least one second storage block, and according to the status signal and at least the second file One generates the screen data. The monitoring device of claim 4, wherein the microprocessor further deletes the first file in the at least one first storage block after completely writing the second file to the at least one second storage block . The monitoring device of claim 4, wherein the number of the at least one first storage block and the at least one second storage block is one each, and the storage of the first storage block and the second storage block is The spaces are equal in size. A picture output method of a display card assembly, used for a status display of the display card assembly to output pictures, wherein a microprocessor of the display card assembly is electrically connected to a non-volatile memory, the non-volatile memory has at least a first storage block and at least one second storage block, and the at least one first storage block has stored a first file, the screen output method includes: receiving a second file by the microprocessor; writing the second file to the at least one second storage block by the microprocessor, wherein before the microprocessor completely writes the second file to the at least one second storage block, the at least one first A storage block stores the complete first file; before the second file is completely written to the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor activates the status display to output a picture corresponding to the first file ; and after the second file is completely written into the at least one second storage block, the microprocessor activates the status display to output a screen corresponding to the second file, and deletes the at least one first storage block of the first file. The screen output method of a display card assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein writing the second file into the at least one second storage block by the microprocessor further comprises: determining, by the microprocessor, the at least one first storage block. The two storage blocks correspond to the block number of the second file; the second file is sequentially written into the at least one second storage block, and is completely written into any one of the at least one second storage block Or when the whole writing of the second file is completed, add one to the accumulated amount of the microprocessor at a writing level; and continue to write the second file until the accumulated amount of the writing level is equal to the block by the microprocessor quantity. The screen output method of a display card assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the microprocessor continues to write the second file until the writing level cumulative amount is equal to the number of blocks, comprising: measuring in the microprocessor When stopping writing the second file, determine whether the cumulative amount of writing level is equal to the number of blocks; and when the microprocessor determines that the cumulative amount of writing level is less than the number of blocks, the second file corresponds to the number of blocks The position of the accumulated amount of writing level continues to be written into the at least one second storage block.

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